Sid,
No prob! This is what Bachido is for, after all!
Uta=song. Zuke comes from Tsuke as in the verb “tsukeru”.
Basically it referes to accompanying a singer.
Since this was the original function of Shamisen players in northern Japan in the old days Utazuke is considered by many traditionalists to be the roots of the solo performances which came later in history.
Kyoku biki (thanks auto spell check)
Kyoku =song or tune. Biki comes from hiki as in past tense hiku.
(to play or to have played). Literally “song play” But in Tsugaru terms Kyokubiki refers to the execution of one’s original composition based on one of the go dai minyo(five great songs of Tsugaru). The word is not used for any original interpretation of any other song such as kase no yakko odori, Yasaburo or kuroishi Yosare. In other words The term Kyokubiki is only used for one of the five great songs.
I just happened to think that I should really bring this to Kyle’s attention. The bachido site should have audio examples of the
“Go dai minyo!” included somewhere so people can listen.
I imagine a lot of people starting out on Shamisen today have come here via the Yoshida Brothers or another more modern example. I can fully understand that by simply listening to the sound and emotion of the music one can easily come to the same conclusion as you have (that these are just collections of riffs to improvise with).
And although there is some truth to that, I feel entirely justified in recommending that you and everyone take some time to just listen to the “songs”. Yes, these are truly “songs”.
Tsugaru Jongara bushi has, as we all know, evolved into the staple of Tsugaru folk songs and is without a doubt the most influential and symbolic song of all that have been reinterpreted into the arena of modern solo performance.
Jongara bushi’s origins are somewhat cloaked in mystery and the tune itself cannot be attributed to any one composer. Historians have traced the roots of the melody to very old songs of Edo which were carried by foot up into the northern land of Aomori by blind wandering female Shamisen players who played and sang for their survival. (watch the Zatoichi movies). The melodies of various tunes were “stolen” by the Tsugaru folk who then added their own lyrics and changed the rhythm a bit. Over time they began to sing lyrics about their home land “Ahhhhh…Tsugaru, our great land, where the apples are always plentiful, the women are pretty and we have our wonderful Jongara which we sing into the night…”
Problem was that by the time someone else got up to sing it, the lyrics would be slightly different and the melody of the song was even slightly different. In this way it was hard to pin down the original Jongara bushi and over time the form and structure changed so much that today when we look back into history there are quite a few versions of Jongara bushi on display.
Most players today break them down into three basic forms…
Jongara kyuu bushi (the old version)
Jongara Naka bushi (the middle version)
Jongara “shin” bushi (the current version)
The “shin” form is more or less the “kyobiki” of today’s
Jongara bushi and is what you hear all day long at the Tournaments
From morning to sunset.
(Yeah, I’ll keep telling myself that)
